Alligator Toy

When I say "draft" at the end of the title, I mean that it was made it Solid works. Solid works is NOT a normal graphics program, it is a TOOL used by drafters and mechanical engineers to build machinery...(more »)

When I say "draft" at the end of the title, I mean that it was made it Solid works. Solid works is NOT a normal graphics program, it is a TOOL used by drafters and mechanical engineers to build machinery parts and test them for weaknesses without actually having to build them in real life. Parts are made in Solid Works in a similar fashion to blueprints. every dimension down to exact degrees and measurements must be given to the computer when the object is being built. objects made of more than one part or including joints must be made in seveal separate files, and then assembled within the program, so that the virtual object can move just as the real life on can. It's a very mathematical process, and very time consuming. Trying to "eye it" and guestimating measurements and degrees will NOT work in such a program. This is a good example of a complex model with multiple parts. There are eighteen individual parts that all had to be made separately and then assembled here. it is designed to be a child's toy. the two body segments would be made out of a magnetic iron, and the remaining pieces would be able to snap into place. (pegs on the parts fit into slots on the body segments, and magnetism holds the pieces in their slots). This would allow a child to be able to pull the pieces apart and put them back together, rather than bolting the parts into place. the slot between the two body sengments and at the base of the neck are elongated and curved, so that the alligator can swivel from side to side to an extent, and its head can turn. All of the slots are the same diameter, so the child can rearrange the features if he so wishes. The lower jaw is fitten loosely to the upper jaw to allow it mobility, and to be able to swing open and shut. the eyes ARE actually bolted down, because they are small and easily lost, but they still swivel and turn, as does the satellite dish. All in all, constructing this took about a month. The nice thing about Solid Works being a blueprinting tool, though, is that a mechanical engineer could take the solid works file for the gator, and be able to actually BUILD it, from the information contained.« read less